Oscar D. Skelton

Oscar Douglas Skelton ( born July 13, 1878 in Orangeville, Ontario, † January 28, 1941 ) was a Canadian historian at Queen 's University in Kingston, Canada (specifically John A. Macdonald Professor of Political Science and Economics) 1909-1925 From. in 1911, he became active in the Liberal Party, Wilfrid Laurier was near and advised from 1921 William Lyon Mackenzie King on matters of foreign policy, like his successor, Louis Saint- Laurent. Skelton was the founder of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, which was responsible for External Affairs before. He also worked as a journalist and author, which he in turn influenced the economic and foreign policy of the country.

Life and work

Skelton was born in the small town of Orangeville north of Toronto in an Anglo- Irish family. In Kingston he first studied Classical Philology, the Classics in Canada not quite match the analogous art in Germany. From there he went to Chicago, but was so dissatisfied with the local studies, that he returned to Kingston and Political Economy heard Adam Shortt.

After studying at the University of Chicago, he graduated in 1908 with a PhD in Political Economy, a work that grappled with Marxism, Skelton returned to the Queen 's University. There he was appointed in 1909 to John A. Macdonald Professor of Political Science and Economics, a position he held until 1925. In 1919 he became dean ( dean of arts ).

Skelton took part on the side of the Liberals at the general election in 1911 and became the Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier close. As Mackenzie King won the 1921 elections, he became its adviser on foreign policy issues. In 1925, he was under secretary of state for external affairs, translate with about foreign affairs undersecretary of state, a position which he held until his death in 1941. In it, he also served as the Conservative Richard Bedford Bennett from 1930 until 1935. He was active in all areas of domestic and foreign policy and is considered one of the driving forces in the development of the Canadian welfare state.

Skelton applies after Adam Shortt had justified the economic history of Canada in the late 19th century, as an intermediary between him and Harold Innis. After his studies, he turned away from political economy and their models to and from the historical analysis. He was in Chicago at Laurence Laughlin, the founder of the Journal of Political Economy, learned and prepared his thesis from 1905. But by 1908 he regretted not Robert Hoxie to have a doctorate working scientists. When his dissertation was published, it was, inter alia, GDH of Lenin and the British Cole praised. Already at this time he was about Shortt, who came from the field of philosophy, outgrown, even more so when he published his Economic History of Canada from Confederation in 1867 to 1912 in 1911. Skelton analyzed for the first time, as markets organized and economic areas were formed from the private and public sectors. He recognized how these structures and their changes were closely linked to foreign policy and economic factors over which the country had little control, because these were more controlled in Washington and London.

Skelton saw the heyday of the British- Canadian relations in the economy marked by free trade years 1854-1866. Thereafter, it was increasingly come to mutual protectionism, which in 1879 culminated with John Macdonald's foreign trade duties. This foreclosure against Great Britain was followed by a stagnation in the 1880s, followed by a considerable emigration to the U.S., especially in the years 1893-1896. Only the railway connections kept the strong regional emphasis, either oriented to Europe or the U.S. economy of the country together. He argued against the view of Goldwin Smith, only massive anti-Americanism keep Canada together. Although the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1886 completed massive corruption made ​​feed, so it was after Skelton's opinion of this building, which held the former British colony. So he agreed with Innis, who planned in 1916, a PhD on this railroad at the University of Chicago. Skelton saw Canada between the world powers, Britain and USA, and it is this intermediate position caused its survival.

Works (selection)

• Socialism: A Critical Analysis, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1919; London: Constable & Co., 1911.
• Life and Times of Sir Alexander Galt Tilloch (1920 )
• Life and Letters of Sir Wilfrid Laurier (2 vols, 1921)